Scottish ‘misled over seal hunt fur’

Seal skins from the controversial Canadian hunts are being sold in Scotland to make sporrans – traditional decorative items popular with tourists and as fancy dress – and buyers are being misled about their origin, an investigation by Ecostorm for Sky News and IFAW, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, has revealed.

During the inquiry, investigators discovered that customers in some Scottish shops are told the fur used to decorate the traditional Scottish garment comes from Greenland and is a by-product of a hunt where the seals are killed for food. But the investigation – broadcast by Sky News – has revealed the truth: the skins come from animals slaughtered purely for their fur.